"Don't pout. I bought one for you too. Wear it in private. If Arianna sees it, we're done."
Serafina's face lit up. She kissed him, whispering thanks, still marked with his touch. Then she asked, soft and curious, "Why are you so scared of her leaving you, Marcello?"
His reply was quick, steady, without hesitation.
"I'm not really that scared because I have you. But Arianna was adored by my grandfather. After I inherit the old Don's shares in the family holdings… I can finally leave her and marry you."
And then he pushed her back down, claiming her again, the bed creaking under their weight. Her moans filled the night air.
I pressed my hand against the wall, choking on my sobs, staring at our wedding photo hanging nearby. His smiling face in that picture looked like a cruel joke.
"Thirteen days, Marcello," I whispered through tears.
"I'll be gone. Let's see how crazy you really get."
I woke up to shouting outside, the kind that shakes you out of sleep before you're ready. When I opened my door, I saw a woman in the garden of the neighboring villa, clutching at a man's shirt.
"Tino, I gave you ten years of my life. I even had your children," she sobbed. "When we got married, you swore you'd love me forever. And now, just a few years later, you're sneaking around with another woman?"
It was barely sunrise, but plenty of people were already out along the lakefront walk, stretching, enjoying the morning air beneath the cypress trees. Now they all stopped, staring, whispers rising as the scene unfolded.
The man, Tino, someone everyone in the gated community knew, went pale when he saw the crowd. He yanked the woman inside and snapped at her.
"What's wrong with you? How many times do I have to tell you? No man stays loyal."
His words cut like glass. I stood frozen, the echo of them clawing at me. Then a warm hand slid over my ear from behind, shielding me.
"Don't listen to that nonsense, Arianna," Marcello murmured.
I didn't turn to him. "Tell me, Marcello… do all men cheat in the end?"
He stilled for a moment, then gently turned me around to face him. His dark eyes locked on mine. "I can't speak for the rest of the world. But me? I'll only ever love you."
I searched his face, his perfect, practiced expression. "You'll only love me for a lifetime? But a lifetime is so long."
He pulled me close. "A lifetime is long, yes. That's why I only want you to fill it."